Spiller and Etienne: Freshman phenoms share more than big plays

The freshman running back took the handoff on the 44th carry of his Clemson career midway through the 4th quarter with the score tied at 17. Headed off tackle, he stutter-stepped as offensive and defensive linemen jockeyed for leverage. 

That stutter-step paid dividends when a crease appeared and the back sped through for what appeared to be a nice gain of five or six yards.

On the other side of the crease, an opposing defensive back was ready to bring him down at the knees. Except that the defensive back had never seen anything like what was about jet past him.

A lightning-quick jab step ended the tackler’s dreams of glory and C.J. Spiller cut right, went up the sideline and outran everyone this side of Usain Bolt on the way to the first 50-yard rush of his career to give Clemson a lead they would not relinquish against Wake Forest that November day in 2006.

Just like that, in 10 seconds, a legend that Clemson fans heard about during recruiting season and was birthed a month earlier on an 82-yard screen pass in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts grew to legendary status.

Six rushes into his career things were going pretty good for Travis Etienne.  He’d gained 23 yards, including 14 on the first explosive rush of his career, and was getting his feet wet in a laugher of an opener that Clemson led by 39.

Just his seventh carry, Etienne burst through a hole up the middle, kept his balance after avoiding two converging defenders 10 yards past the line of scrimmage and sprinted 54 yards before he was finally tracked down at the opponent’s 35. Fans took notice.

Two weeks later the Tigers had salted away a victory at Papa John’s Stadium in Louisville and were up by 19 before Etienne was handed the ball.  He hadn’t played against Auburn the prior week, and this was his opportunity to prove he belonged on the field against the better opponents.

Etienne secured the handoff and headed off tackle like the play called for, but in the blink of an eye cut left, shrugged off an attempted arm tackle two yards downfield, bounced off a second tackle attempt four yards later and left the Cardinal defense in the dust, outrunning multiple defenders as he rocketed up the sideline.

Eighty-one yards later Kirk Herbstreit was gushing about Clemson’s “embarrassment of riches,” and the legend of Travis Etienne was born.

Freshman Comparison - Spiller and Etienne

Both freshmen would finish their seasons with four 50+ yard rushes but would get there in very different ways, with very different levels of skills around them.

Spiller took the slower route, totaling only 103 rushing yards in his first four games, as Tiger great James Davis led the Tigers ground game out of the gate. 

After torching Louisiana Tech for 127 yards in game five, Spiller had the long run against Wake, scorched Georgia Tech for 116 on the ground and 50 receiving, scoring 50-yard touchdowns both through the air and on the ground.

Spiller then closed the regular season with 154 rushing yards against N.C. State and 155 against South Carolina, before being a non-factor in a Music City Bowl loss.

Four games in, Etienne was averaging 12.7 yards per carry, had 292 rushing yards and by his 50th carry Etienne had all four of his 50-yard runs, including three in his first 19 attempts.

Etienne's backfield was more crowded, with rushes going to not only starter Tavien Feaster, but veterans C.J. Fuller and Adam Choice, too.

Etienne's last 50-yard rush came in game seven - midseason as it turned out - and none of his final 20 attempts went for more than nine yards.

As a freshman, Spiller was more of a threat in the passing game, scoring on receptions of 82 and 50 yards and ending the season with 19 receptions for 210 yards and those two touchdowns.

Etienne totaled five receptions for 57 yards, and while he showed potential as a receiver out of the backfield, this offense is a completely different animal than the 2006 version of Spiller's freshman season.

Spiller’s runs were marked with cat-quick steps, jukes, jump-stops and world class speed.  Etienne’s powerful lower body stands out as he bounces off would be tacklers and surprises with his initial burst.

Things have changed dramatically for Clemson since 2006, and a large part of that has to do with Spiller himself.  Ignoring the wishes of his mother and forsaking his childhood favorite Florida State, Spiller chose Clemson before social media was a thing and before it was fashionable to choose Clemson.

While there was NFL talent sprinkled around that 2006 team, it’s nothing like the talent on the current roster that’s satiated with future millionaires.

Etienne was ranked just outside of the top 200 nationally and as the 15th best running back in the 2017 class, while Spiller was a 5 star, ranked 19th nationally and 4th at his position.

They play the same position, but they are different players, with different skill sets, from different states, yet both managed to electrify Clemson fans as true freshmen.

When C.J. Spiller’s eligibility ended, there was a feeling that we had witnessed something rare and special and that there'd never be another Spiller at Clemson and we were right.

Spiller was a unique talent that changed the perception of Clemson nationally, made it cool to stay in school as NFL money waited for a year because he “loved Clemson too much.”

There’ll never be another Travis Etienne either.  Etienne will always be the Louisiana kid with an electric smile and easy way about him who showed the world that there are options besides LSU, even for a football player from Jennings, Louisiana who grew up dreaming of being a Bayou Bengal Tiger.

Etienne also opted to say no to his childhood favorite, be his own man and to run for glory where the Blue Ridge yawns its greatness.

11 years apart each found his way to the college in the northwest corner of South Carolina, to Clemson Memorial Stadium and Frank Howard Field, each making the choice for their own reasons.

When the ball was in Spiller's hands you knew at any moment on any play he could do something spectacular, maybe something you'd never seen and would never see again. Palpable energy coursed through the stands and 11 years later at tailgates, many a conversation starts with, "Remember when C.J. Spiller...."

11 years later when Travis Etienne touches the ball, there's a similar, almost involuntary, energy in Memorial Stadium.  It's different, but that doesn't make it any less real, and it's a matter of time before those tailgate conversations turn to "Remember when Etienne...", if they haven't already.  

Two running backs, from two different football crazy states, similar in some ways, unique in others, 11 years apart, but forever bound by their choice of Clemson and by the reaction of 80,000 fans when they touch the ball.